PLAN to hop or hop as a back-up?

[angierae]

I plan to hop. I usually end the day at whatever park is open latest.

 

[Delphinidae]

I'm sorry it has taken me so long to respond! I have been having issues with my computer and I don't really like using the mobile site.

Have you thought about not buying the hoppers and adding them when you get there if you feel you need them? We are rope droppers and afternoon break takers then we go back to the same park. You can schedule FP for the mornings when crowds show up around 11 or during the evening return. I usually plan using Josh's advice but sometimes I go against it just because MK has to be the first day park even if crowd calendars advice against it.

I got Free Dining so I had to either get the hoppers or the water park passes, and we aren't planning on going to the water parks on this trip. I was trying to schedule park days based off his calendar but with all the changes this summer I'm wondering how accurate it will turn out to be.

HS is a tiered park. RnRC and TSMM are both tier 1, so you won't be able to FP both of them. ToT is tier 2, so you're fine there.

What do you think I would be better off getting FP for in the tier 1 category? My youngest daughter also wants to try to do Jedi Training Academy, so what should our plan of attack be for that morning? Also, do RnRc and ToT have rider swap? My youngest isn't so sure about those rides and I don't even really know how rider swap works because we've never done it before.

One more point. Crowd calendars. Another topic but using PH as a crowd strategy. I am hesitant to use crows calendars this summer. Too many changes. Biggest is AK open until 11pm. And EPs new attractions. This might throw things off a bit.

This is what I'm worried about, it doesn't look like easywdw's August crowd calendar has been updated since February.

Unless you need to purchase hoppers for your discount, I would hold off. We bought ours on the day we planned to use them on our last trip and used them one time. Wicked waste of Money that time. If you have not incorporated hopping into your plans, don't spend the money upfront.

We are staying at the BC this year and our plans include hopping in and out of Epcot, so this time I know we will find a value, but like you, I generally plan one park pe day.

I got them for the Free Dining promo. I do like dedicating full days to each park because we don't really run out of things to do, so they may end up going to waste, but since we've never gone in August before I thought it might be good to have them as a backup in case crowds are awful enough that we want to go somewhere else.

Don't plan to hop. Hop as a backup.

Make all your fp's at your main park for the day.
For Thursday, maybe make your fp's at Epcot now for the Frozen ride. But keep your plans loose. This can be a great park hopping day!

That's a good idea. I was wondering if, on our epcot day we have planned now, if it would be ok to get in line for the meet and greet AND the ride straight after breakfast at Akershus WITHOUT fastpassing the ride, and using that FP for Soarin', but I'm not sure if that would work out very well lol.

We always park hop. My daughter does all the planning for the trips now, but when it was my responsibility we'd go to the morning EMH, leave when it got crowded, take a break in the room (we go in August) and then head out to another park until closing. We spend most evenings/nights at EPCOT as we enjoy World Showcase at night.

We are going in August this time. We have never done afternoon breaks before and I hope we don't end up needing to this time, but we'll see how we're feeling. When do the EMH parks usually end up starting to get too crowded? I never understood why they don't get crowded until later in the day when the EMH are early in the morning.

It sounds as if you already have the hoppers, so the advice you received above to 'not buy the hoppers' is moot at this point.

Even then, I'm a huge proponent of using the hopper. Plan your nighttime entertainment with the hopper in mind. After spending the morning & early afternoon in one park, take an afternoon break and hop to a different park at night for fireworks, parades, & evening spectaculars. You can use FastPass at either, and it does not tie your FastPass to your ADR park.

It does require some planning, and takes a commitment to not go back to the resort and get so comfortable you don't want to get back out. But, it helps break up the day and adds a little variety to what, for us, is normally a 16 hour day.

What I'm worried about with hopping is that we would not want to leave the first park at least probably until after lunch, maybe as late as 4 or 5. By the time we get to the next park, won't we have very little chance of getting more fastpasses there (provided we were not able to already get some due to our first park FP times) and then pretty much be stuck in hour long lines for everything?

This will be our first trip with hoppers as well (had to get them for FD). We are only "planning" to hop one day - after Fantasmic, we will be hopping over to Epcot. I don't think we will plan and FP+ since it will be so late, but we will probably ride SE (probably our secret favorite) and then watch Illuminations. Otherwise it will be nice to have them if we feel like hopping, but we aren't scheduling days around them. It will be interesting to see how much we actually use them, I doubt we would have ever considered them if they weren't made a stipulation to receive FD.

That's pretty much exactly our situation lol

A lot depends on the type of tourers people are, when they are planning to visit (I looked for this in the OP, did I miss it?), maybe even what resort people stay at (relying on buses can mean an hour or more lost to travel mid-day).

We plan to hop. We take the midday pool break and usually head to a different park afterwards. Or, if we are going to make use of morning EMH, we plan to be in a second park by lunch. But we travel in late August, when most lines are relatively manageable all day without FP; we stay at an Epcot-area resort (walking/boat to two parks); and we use our car (no buses!). If we didn't have easy ways to get back and forth, we'd do one park per day (which is easier and more leisurely)

Sorry I didn't post that information! I wouldn't really say we are "commando" type tourers (maybe we are lol, not sure) but I like to aim to be there for RD and we like to stay till the park closes. We just like getting as much time in the parks as possible while we are there. We are going the 3rd week of August and staying at Coronado Springs. We always plan on using the bus because once I'm in Disney I'm not touching my car until we leave! I don't know if I really want to PLAN hop days (except for maybe my Thursday which I still have no idea what park I want to try)

This thread has FP strategy when hopping:
http://www.disboards.com/threads/fp-and-park-hopping.3514422/

If you book 1 or 2 FPs for the first park, after using FP #1, you can use the app to book a FP for Park #2. You technically can hold FPs in 2 parks at one time.

Thanks! I'll check that out

 

[mousefan73]

Your responses made me think. You have PHs because of FD. You normally wouldn't have them. Now that you do, you and thousands of others in the sane situation ( free dining must add-on) will be "smart" and hop to EMHs. Though you normally wouldn't. We also habe FD but took waterparks


I'm just concerned now if EMH are more crowded due to FD crowd?? Last year EMH ( evening) in Sept was horribke.

 

[ArmyVet80]

We are hoppers. We will usually schedule a lunch at our first park and dinner at our second park.
Example: We only spend 1/2 of a day at AK because we can accomplish everything we want to see in 1/2 a day. That leaves us 1/2 day for another park. We'll have lunch at Yak & Yeti while at AK.
We will then have an ADR at Epcot (or any other park). We'll hop on the bus and go to Epcot and walk the WS and possibly ride some rides. We'll eat dinner wherever our ADR is at and watch Illuminations.

With all of the construction going on at HS (or will be going on) and limited rides it has become a 1/2 day park for us too. We have thought about 1/2 day at AK and 1/2 day at HS but haven't done it yet.

We also like to leave parks to go to Epcot during the Food & Wine Festival. We try and plan a few hours a day (Tuesday thru Thursday) to try different kiosks/booths. The crowds are normally lighter in the early afternoon in the middle of the week during our Sept. trips at the F&W Fest.

 

[Nancyg56]

Your responses made me think. You have PHs because of FD. You normally wouldn't have them. Now that you do, you and thousands of others in the sane situation ( free dining must add-on) will be "smart" and hop to EMHs. Though you normally wouldn't. We also habe FD but took waterparks


I'm just concerned now if EMH are more crowded due to FD crowd?? Last year EMH ( evening) in Sept was horribke.

I am not sure if the hoppers will affect EMH, but I do think they will help folks like me. WE were on the fence this time, but because we are staying at the BC< I decided to bite the bullet and make the purchase. The FD offer just solidified the decision. I think that having them will offer people the ability to take advantage of morning hours and then enjoy evening entertainment in DHS and DAK, when they normally might have eliminated one of those parks fom their vacation rotation.

 

[Disneylover99]

Your responses made me think. You have PHs because of FD. You normally wouldn't have them. Now that you do, you and thousands of others in the sane situation ( free dining must add-on) will be "smart" and hop to EMHs. Though you normally wouldn't. We also habe FD but took waterparks


I'm just concerned now if EMH are more crowded due to FD crowd?? Last year EMH ( evening) in Sept was horribke.

I find early evening with night time EMH super crowded anyways no matter what time of year I've gone. I would just avoid it anyways, unless you're heading over late at night, then it can be worth it.

 

[Day-Day]

Your responses made me think. You have PHs because of FD. You normally wouldn't have them. Now that you do, you and thousands of others in the sane situation ( free dining must add-on) will be "smart" and hop to EMHs. Though you normally wouldn't. We also habe FD but took waterparks


I'm just concerned now if EMH are more crowded due to FD crowd?? Last year EMH ( evening) in Sept was horribke.

I don't know what the schedule was like during your visit but the schedule for my upcoming September visit shows one evening EMH for the Magic Kingdom during our stay. There are 3 days with MNSSHP during that week so I'm guessing the crowds will be heavy (heavy for September) on the one evening EMH in the MK. The EMH is currently scheduled for 8pm to 10pm which is not so late and many guests won't feel that it is too late in the evening to attend. Also, with the limited number of Wishes fireworks and Electrical Light parades, many guests will attend the MK in the evening that has EMH.

 

[Miss Frankie J]

This is my first time hopping as well, I plan on hopping 3 out of our 6 days there. the days we are hopping are the days we are going to Magic Kingdom mostly because we can't handle a full day there. Also we are going during the F&W festival so we are trying to maximize our time there.

I try to avoid EMH only if they are Evening hours. but honestly its not terrible as long as you are prepared.

Monday: Yes those are tiered. TSMM and RnRC are in group 1 so you can only choose 1. pick TSMM and possibly do single rider or rope drop RnRC.

Tuesday: You dont have to avoid EMH, but if you had the Crystal palace reservation to get into the park early it wont help you if they have morning EMH. I would FP+ Peter pan's Flight, Space mountain, and SDMT. Those have some of the longest and craziest wait times so that would save you the most time in my opinion.

Wednesday: Depending on how late you go to the safari you might not need a FP for it. however going during the day you will need one. Kali River Rapids can get long lines so if your interested in it I would FP it just in case.

Thursday: with the new attractions and Epcot being a Tiered park I would plan a morning here. it would help you divide the headline attractions between two days and be less stressful. You could FP+ Soarin', Rope Drop Test track and use the other two FP to do other FW attractions like Spaceship earth. then once your done you can hop if you like to AK or MK.

Friday: FP Frozen ever after if you decide to go to epcot on thursday. One less thing you have to worry about. if you don't do Epcot on Thursday, FP Soarin and possibly ride single rider on test track if you dont mind splitting up. Spaceship earth and Mission space I usually use as the other two FP but honestly dont think it was ever needed.


I hope it helps!

This will be my first trip where I have park hoppers, and I'm so used to dedicating each day to ONE park that I'm having trouble figuring out what to do. Is it possible (without resulting in headaches and long lines) to simply use the hopper as a last minute decision to go to another park? Or should I already have a plan in place of where to hop and when? I would really kind of prefer to NOT plan on doing it unless necessary or if we just get the inclination.

My main concern is that I am coming up on my day to make my FP choices and I need to get my park choices for each day nailed down so I can do that. This is also our first trip since FP+ became a thing so that is new to us as well.

This is what I have already, all subject to change:

Monday: HS. Fantasmic lunch package at Mama Melrose. Youngest daughter would like to try to do Jedi Training Academy. Planning on trying to get FP for TSMM, Tower of Terror, and RnRC. These aren't tiered, so we would have a chance at all 3, correct? Or no? Do ToT and RnRC need FP? Anything else I should choose instead?

Tuesday: MK. I have an 8:15 breakfast at Crystal Palace, but now that they've added the Early Morning Magic to this day, I'm not sure if I'll be able to keep it. Or should I change the park for this day altogether? Also have a lunch ADR at BOG. Not sure what we will FP here, guess it will depend on if we are able to get in early enough to do anything, and which attractions are most important to the kiddos. Which are the absolute most needed?

Wednesday: AK. 10:45 Jungle Book dining package at Tusker House. We will try to do the safari first thing, and get FP for EE. Dinosaur will be down while we're there. Not sure what else we want for FP yet. Are they allowing FP for EE at night? We may try the nighttime Safari but not sure yet.

Thursday: Not sure at all!!!! I was planning a second day at MK, but we all love AK and Epcot so it could go any number of ways. With the new Frozen attractions and Soarin' both being open and still (fairly) new when we go, I am wondering if this should be Epcot. Help!

Friday: Epcot. 8:00 breakfast at Akershus, after which I'm thinking it will be best to get in line for the A&E meet & greet. Then maybe try the ride depending on how the line is, or else head back to Future World. FP of course I will be either trying for Soarin' or the Frozen ride. Any suggestions on which would be best? I hate to backtrack so much between FW and the WS, so I may just go ahead and ride FEA standby after the M&G unless the wait is just ungodly, if we can get Soarin' FP. Which Tier 2 attractions really need FP?

One last thing. I know the advice is always to AVOID the EMH parks, and I did pick the above park days based off Josh's crowd calendar. However, since I have hoppers, should we try to make use of EMH and then hop elsewhere once it starts getting too crowded? I just want to maximize park time, and I want to get any changes made and finalized ASAP before my 60 day mark. I know this is stupidly long but many thanks to anyone who reads all this and has any advice!

 

[GuyFromGulfport]

We used to always plan. and the first two times we went, without hopping, things went relatively well. But we'd go through each park like it was our last day on Earth, because we knew it would be our ONLY day at that park. We were whipped, by the end of 4-5 days.

When we decided to return twice in the same year, Annual Passes was our strategy. Because we could now Hop, we got to see how the "other half lived." The flexibility was HUGE. We always preferred nights at MK. So, we could hit the other four stops in the morning (we treat EPCOT like two parks. One visit for Future World, one for World Showcase.), take an afternoon break for nap/arcade/pool (in effort to miss afternoon thundershowers), and go to Magic Kingdom from dark-close. We spent way more time at the parks, then when we didn't park hop. But, we weren't worn out, because we weren't under so much pressure to see everything THAT DAY.

Granted, we will probably never have annual passes again. But, when we return in a few years, we will definitely budget for park hopper.

SO: If you can budget it, HOP. Disney vacations make us all tight on funds. That is why we never did beforehand. For now on, I'll stay somewhere cheaper, if it means I can get the Hopper in.

 

[Shadowcat70]

We had to chose either the Water Parks & More option, or Park Hoppers for our trip to get free dining. We picked Water Parks & More because we love Blizzard Beach and plan to spend at least one full day and some partial days there. A few weeks ago we were all discussing the heat of August, and since it was only another $100 total, we added the Park Hopper option to those tickets. We don't plan on hopping, but will probably need to, so it's nice to know we have that option to switch parks mid-day. It will also allow us to do AK only at night, and be at another park during the day.

 

[scurvyfreedman]

We hopped our last trip and plan to do it again. We liked to do EP at night for dinner/fireworks on nights that MK was the least preferred park due to crowds and when other parks had evening EMH. Those nights EP seemed totally empty and was great for both rides and dining. We also hopped to MK at night when we did AK and HS during the day because those parks closed early on the days we went.

 

[emonade8]

What do you think I would be better off getting FP for in the tier 1 category? My youngest daughter also wants to try to do Jedi Training Academy, so what should our plan of attack be for that morning? Also, do RnRc and ToT have rider swap? My youngest isn't so sure about those rides and I don't even really know how rider swap works because we've never done it before.

Conventional wisdom is to FP+ TSMM because the waits tend to be higher and it's almost impossible to get as a 4th FP. I'm not sure if the addition of a 3rd track at TSMM has changed that at all, so maybe someone else can chime in on that. If your daughter wants to try JTA, you would definitely head there at rope drop. Idk what the waits are like, as we've never done it, but you might be able to ride RnRC standby afterward without a terrible wait. If not, it is sometimes available as a 4th FP. There's also single rider, but Idk if that's something that would work for you. I'm almost positive that RnRC and ToT both have rider swap, but I can't say absolutely, since we've never used it either.